USNA Usana not going private now; stock up 6 percent

Jul 18, 2008 (The Salt Lake Tribune – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — USNA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — Shares of Usana Health Sciences Inc. jumped 6 percent Thursday, one day after founder and CEO Myron Wentz reversed his plan to take the company private.

Gull Holdings Ltd., a group led by Wentz that owns 68 percent of Usana’s shares, pulled its bid for the nutritional supplement and personal care products maker after failing to convince other investors to let go of their shares at a steep discount to previous highs.

Shares of Usana, based in West Valley City, closed Thursday at $25.77, up $1.34.

Usana traded as high as $49.48 a share in January before entering a slide that didn’t end until April. A month later, Gull Holdings offered to buy the remaining shares for $26, a premium over that day’s share price of $20.83. In June, the group sweetened its bid to $28 a share after running into opposition from minority shareholders and a special committee appointed by the firm’s board of directors.